The present invention relates to orthosis devices and especially to a total contact hyperextension orthosis and a method of making the same.
Surgical braces of the present type have been commonly used in the past, which include the Jewett hyperextension back brace having a rigid three-point hyperextension system, including a sternal plate for pressing against the patient's sternum, which has a sternal pad and sternal bars connecting the sternal plate to side pads which are in turn connected to the lumbar pads and which has pubic bars attached to the side pads and to a pubic pad which is contoured to fit over the groin of the patient. A brace of this type can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,274,996. Other braces may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,351,053 and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,367. This latter patent has a pelvic brace formed like a girdle with an outer layer of hard, substantially rigid plastic material and an inner layer of soft compressible plastic material bonded to the outer layer, with the girdle being shaped to engage the person's pelvis, and being split vertically along the anterior and posterior vertical portions, and has specially curved sections to engage the iliac crest of the wearer, which portion has appreciably thicker compressible inner layers thereon. This patent also has a method of making such a brace. U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,548 shows a method of making an orthopedic correctional cast. In U.S. Pat. No. 224,784, a stiffening jacket or envelope for supporting parts of the human body is provided.
The present invention deals with a brace of the type taught in the Jewett U.S. Pat. No. 3,274,996, but which provides the principal support against soft tissue, including the patient's breast, rather than against the sternum, thereby relieving the uncomfortable pressure against the patient's bones. To accomplish this, however, the brace must be made to conform to an individual patient's body and breasts in a manner to place a uniform support over the body. The molding of a custom brace, however, leaves the breast positioned improperly for such support, and this must be measured, marked and corrected in the forming of the present orthosis. In addition, the present orthosis provides a total contact anterior support for the anterior portion thereof.